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After several years of missing Club trips to Pt. Lobos, Tate and I decided that this time we were going on the Pt. Lobos dive trip with the dive club. Pt. Lobos State Reserve is located in Carmel, CA and is not only a VERY popular scuba diving site, but a popular nature hiking spot with tons of hiking trails. They only allow a maximum of 30 people a day to dive this specific spot. We had to make reservations for our group 2 months in advance. We were lucky to be able to obtain all 30 spots for our club members only.

We drove down Friday night with Cayle & Holly and had dinner. Then we met up with Corrine for some hot tubbing before bedtime. Saturday morning, we met the other club members for breakfast at 7:00 am. After breakfast we headed to the Park and waited at the gate for them to open at 9:00. When the gates opened, we flooded the Park with cars and trucks carrying people, boats and dive gear. We were ready for some diving. It was a beautiful day in Carmel. The sky was clear the air was crisp and the water was flat and cold. We headed out with Jack in his little Zodiac boat out of the cove near some big rocks (Bluefish Cove, Outer Pinnacle). There was seven of us on the boat and this was my first time diving from a small boat. I’m glad I took Dramamine! I was the first one into the water with Tate following behind me. The water temp at the surface read 55 degrees. At some point during the dive, it read 51 degrees… brrrr. We reached depths of 70 feet. The water was so clear, you could see approximately 40-45 feet. We saw TONS of fish, none of which I got pics of. But I did get pics of the little stuff, like nudibranchs, a shrimp and a couple of snails. Unfortunately for Tate, his dive computer wasn’t reading how much air he had so we based his time on my air consumption and ended our dive early. Once back on the boat, we found that the others on the boat had issues of their own. Holly lost a fin, Cayle broke a fin strap, and Penny was feeling green around the gills. We waited for Jack to return to the boat to take us back to shore for lunch. Between Holly, Cayle, Corinne & Holger, we had quite a spread of food. Other’s in our group came by to graze and help eat it all. During lunch, I stayed in part of my wetsuit and while it was warm outside, I just couldn’t get warm. I decided that I didn’t want to get back into the water and get even colder. So I didn’t do the second dive. Tate, also chose not to dive the second time around since his computer wasn’t working right. So while everyone else went back into the water, we stayed behind and relaxed in the sun. I took a walk on one of the trails overlooking the cove and the ocean. I got some great photos. Tate took a nap. While waiting for everyone to come back, I looked over to calm, clear water in the cove and wished I had made the 2^nd dive after all. This was the last dive in my wetsuit. My dry suit is on the way to the shop for new feet and the next time I dive, it will be dry. I can’t wait! This will also be Tate\’s last trip in a wet suit since he was able to get the dry suit he was wanting off of ebay for a GREAT price… it\’s due to arrive later this week.

Upon everyone’s return, we started to pack up. By that time, the tide had gone out considerably leaving the launch ramp long and slippery. One of the other club members only had a 2wd truck and knew that the ramp would be too slick to pull his boat out of the water. So he asked Tate to do it for him. Unfortunately, our ball was too big for his trailer hitch so while everyone was calling for “smaller balls” they decided to attach the trailer back to the 2wd truck and then attach the 2wd truck to our truck. The sight was quite humorous and I was sure to get plenty of pictures. Once everyone was in place and the Avalanche began to pull the Dakota with the boat attached to it, up the launch ramp, I turned on the video camera. To watch the video, click HERE. Everyone had a nice laugh and we all went back to the hotel for a quick nap, shower then back out to dinner with the group.

We headed out to Canary Row for dinner at the Fish Hopper. This is a very nice restaurant overlooking the Monterey Bay. The moon was rising outside our window, big and orange. I decided to try my hand at some photos from the window. Not too bad for an indoor shot. Several couples ordered what they called “Bucket of Fire” fruity drink including Tate and I. It was YUMMY, but man was it huge. Corinne & Holger and Cayle & Holly had finished theirs, I needed help finishing mine (Tate was the designated driver). The three of us girls got our straws and sucked it dry within seconds. Dinner was expensive but well worth it. Our waiter was kind enough to split the checks for our party of 20+ people. Thanks Jose!

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel for more hot tubbing and a few cocktails. Holger opted to stay dry and take pics of us being silly in the hot tub. When we left for bed, I accidentally left my camera behind… not a good idea to let drunk people get a hold of your camera. I had pictures of feet, shorts, ceramic bunnies and the hotel sign when I got my camera back. I guess it could have been worse.

Sunday, we woke up semi early, had breakfast and headed home. Now that I have been to Pt. Lobos, I look forward to future trips with or without the club. It was a beautiful place and I can’t wait to go back.

To see pics of last weekend\’s trip, click here: Yahoo! Photos – Pt. Lobos

Thanks for reading! Have a great week,

Renee & Tate